Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Hubble Image of M13’s Nucleus

Hubble Image of M13's Nucleus
Hubble catches an instantaneous glimpse of many hundreds of thousands of stars moving about in the globular cluster M13, one of the brightest and best-known globular clusters in the northern sky. This glittering metropolis of stars is easily found in the winter sky in the constellation Hercules. This image is a composite of archival Hubble data taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. Observations from four separate science proposals taken in November 1999, April 2000, August 2005, and April 2006 were used. The image includes broadband filters that isolate light from the blue, visible, and infrared portions of the spectrum.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    16h 41m 41.63s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    36° 27' 40.71"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Hercules
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    25,000 light-years (7.6 kiloparsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is roughly 4.9 arcminutes (36 light-years or 11 parsecs) wide.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    HST Proposal: 8174 Science Team: W. van Altena (Yale University) HST Proposal: 8278 Science Team: C. Bailyn (Yale University) HST Proposal: 10349 Science Team: W. Lewin (MIT) A. Sarajedini HST Proposal: 10775 Science Team: A. Sarajedini (University of Florida)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>WFPC2 and HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    November 1999, April 2000, August 2005, and April 2006
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    ACS/WFC: F435W (B), F555W (V), and F814W (I) WFPC2: F555W (V), F785LP (I), and F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    M13, NGC 6205
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Globular Cluster
  • Release Date
    December 4, 2008
  • Science Release
    A Celestial Snow Globe of Stars
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: C. Bailyn (Yale University), W. Lewin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), A. Sarajedini (University of Florida), and W. van Altena (Yale University)

Downloads

  • 4465 × 4496
    jpg (16.7 MB)
  • 4465 × 4496
    tif (37.38 MB)
  • 800 × 806
    jpg (455.46 KB)
  • PDF
    (12.77 MB)
  • 200 × 200
    (19.04 KB)
  • 347 × 350
    (44.65 KB)
  • 1271 × 1280
    (2.7 MB)
Hubble Image of M13's Nucleus
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS and WFPC2 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: ACS/WFC F435W (B), Green: ACS/WFC F555W (V) Red: ACS/WFC F814W (I) Cyan/blue: WFPC2 F555W (V), Yellow/orange: WFPC2 F785LP (I) + WFPC2 F814W (I)

Related Images & Videos

Hubble ACS/WFPC2 Image of Globular Cluster M13

Hubble ACS/WFPC2 Image of Globular Cluster M13

Like a whirl of shiny flakes sparkling in a snow globe, Hubble catches an instantaneous glimpse of many hundreds of thousands of stars moving about in the globular cluster M13, one of the brightest and best-known globular clusters in the northern sky. This glittering metropolis...

Compass and Scale Image of M13

Compass and Scale Image of M13

Ground-Based Image of M13

Ground-Based Image of M13

Ground-based image of M13 taken with the NOAO Visitor's Program 20-inch telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Share

Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble Images

Hubble News